Hollands: Ten Opposites I {Toddler Play}

My little man is loving opposites right now at 15 months. Here are a few of the opposites we have done during our intentional learning times.

Choose two per day for a week's worth of learning play!

1. COLD vs. HOT

Spanish: frio y caliente (I also say them in spanish so he can learn both! We do live in Ecuador.)

Zane is darling when I'm in the kitchen and the oven is on. He goes up to the oven almost touches it then says "Ot Ot Ot." I tell him yes, thats right- it is very HOT and you cannot touch it.
This little interaction inspired me to have an intentional learning play time with hot things. I know- I'm a great mom, wanting my kid to play with hot things.

I heated some water in a plastic container about 30 seconds. Just enough to have it feeling hot, but not enough to burn. Slightly hotter than I would have him bathe in.

I also put some tap water in a separate container that looked identical. (You can also add some ice in the cold one so the contrast is even greater.)

We marched out onto our porch (cause I knew we were about to become soak mania central).

I placed both containers in front of him. I took his hands and placed it first in the cold water. I said "Cold". Then I placed his hand in the hot water and said "Hot".

I wish you could have seen his face! He was not only well aware the water temperatures were different but he wanted to feel the cold one again. He proceeded to go back and forth. Each time his hand touched the water that was cold I wold repeat "cold" and same for the hot water.

He decided he liked the cold water better. He would not go back to playing with the hot water, but just stuck his hand in the cold. I am guessing it was because it was hot outside. (We live in Ecuador where it is about 75 degrees in the sun even in January.)

By the end of the play time his pants were soaked from dumping both waters on himself. Wet boy = good time.

2. WET vs. DRY

mojado y seco

Inspiration for this active play time came from spilled water on our couch. Zane saw the wet spot and would touch it over and over again. I would tell him "wet" when he touched it. I decided to wet a towel and keep a second one dry. I wanted them to look the same.

I set both in front of him. I helped his hand touch the wet towel. I said "wet". I then moved that same hand over to the dry towel and said "dry".

I kept saying which one he touched when he was touching them on his own. To my surprise he started saying "et, eye" "et, eye" "et, eye". I was really proud of him to feel the wet and be able to 'say' et!

He decided he no longer wanted the dry one and threw it behind him. He proceeded to play only with the wet one. Putting it on his head, wiping the ground, and throwing it forward and backwards in play.

3. ON vs. OFF

encendida y apagada

At night time go into a closed room. Turn off the main light while holding your little guy in your arms and say 'OFF'. Turn on the light and say 'ON'. Let your toddler turn on and off the switch, they will love it! Zane takes a long time in actually pushing the switch on and off because he gets so excited he giggles and enjoys the excitement of the whole thing!

Fun twist to this play time is having a flash light that you wave around the room!

4. UP vs. DOWN

arriba y abajo

When we go to the park we get to do this opposite on the sea-saw. At one point after many repetitions of saying up and down Zane started saying 'Dn, Uh' 'Dn, Uh'. He wouldn't always say the Dn when he was down, but he was trying to copy!

5. OPEN vs. CLOSE

abrir y cerrar

One of Zane's favorites. Give him anything with a lid (water bottle, tupaware), or a swinging door, and he will open and shut it all day long. I just say the right words when he is doing the right action and he gets them ingrained in his little brain.

6. LOUD vs. QUIET

fuerte y quieto

This was fun. You can do this activity during story time.

I would say in my normal voice "Zane I am going to read very loud"- then I read loudly.

He looked at me with this funny smile and stuck his hand in my mouth!

Then I say in my normal voice "I am going to read very soft".

He liked the whisper in his ear. He started mimicking blabbering loudly and then breathing hard more like a sigh for the soft reading part. It was so cute.

I repeat "Loud" before I read a sentence or two loudly and "Soft" when I whisper to him.

You can also do this by playing music. Play a song loudly then softly while telling him the words.

7. SWEET vs. SALTY

dulce y salada

Normally I do not just give my child a spoon full of sugar- even to get the hiccups away- but this particular opposite I couldn't resist!

I placed some white sugar in a small pile in front of him on his tray. Then I did the same right beside it with salt.

I had him taste the sugar first. Hmm... yes, he wanted more.

Then the salt... and to my surprise he hardly reacted at all and wanted more salt as well!

His face would change but he seemed to like both.

8. SLOW vs. FAST

despacio y rapido

For Christmas Zane got a big dump truck. My husband helped with this one while I was the photographer. As we put him on it and go fast and tell him "Fast!" Then I would go really slow and say "Slow".